Authors
Vaibhav is a part of Newschecker’s English team, where he spots and debunks all kinds of misinformation, making the rounds on the internet. A Journalism graduate from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, he holds an M.A degree in Philosophy and an M.Phil from Delhi University.
Two suspects, Gaus Mohammad and Mohd Riyaz Ansari, brutally murdered Kanhaiyalal, a tailor in Udaipur, for posting on social media in favour of Nupur Sharma, a former BJP spokesperson who made statements against the Prophet Mohammad. After the murder, a curfew was imposed, and internet service was shut off as Udaipur experienced significant protests. In light of these events a video of Rahul Gandhi along with the claim that he referred to the two accused as children, and that he does not hold any enmity against them and should be forgiven, is going viral on social media. Newschecker found these claims to be untrue and unrelated to the incident in Udaipur.
The video was aired by Zee News on their show ‘DNA’ along with the same claim. The video aired by Zee News can be seen below.
Since then, Zee News has deleted the tweet and removed the video from its YouTube page. The host of the prime-time programme “DNA,” where the byte was broadcast, also tweeted an apology.
Social media has since been abuzz with the video going viral since it was broadcast on Zee News. The video has been shared on Facebook by user ‘Aditya Naik’ which has garnered 76 likes and 86 shares on the platform. The video has been shared along with the caption ‘Rahul gandhi calls udaipur puncturewalle terrorists as children who did a silly thing. CONGRESS IS CANCER’.
Newschecker found similar claims on Facebook with similar captions.
Fact Check /Verification
We started our investigation by conducting a reverse search on the key-frames of the video on Google and found a video by Manorama News uploaded on 1st July, 2022 on their official Youtube channel.
In the video a reporter questions Gandhi about what he observed when he went to his vandalised constituency office. Rahul Gandhi responded, “First and foremost, it’s my office, but it’s also the office of the people of Wayanad before it’s my office. This is the representative body for the Wayanad people. It was a really regrettable thing that was done. The notion that violence will only exacerbate issues and will never provide a solution is pervasive throughout the nation. The kids that did this, though, were kids themselves, therefore it’s not acceptable. They have behaved irresponsibly, thus it is not a decent thing to do.”
Newschecker found that it is the same video which is now going viral on social media.
The video was also posted on Rahul Gandhi’s official Facebook page along with the caption ‘The environment of anger and hatred in the country has been created by the ruling dispensation – the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, the BJP, and the RSS.
This environment is against the interests of the people of India.
The Congress party does not believe in solving problems with hatred & anger. We build bridges between communities. We bring people together, and we will continue to do so.’
We conducted a keyword search with the words “Rahul Gandhi”, “Wayanad”, “Office” and “vandalised” and found an article by Indian Express titled Rahul Gandhi visits vandalised Wayanad office, says act unfortunate but he isn’t angry uploaded on 1st July, 2022 on their website.
According to the article, Rahul Gandhi, the head of the Congress, visited his MP office in Kerala’s Wayanad, which was vandalised by the CPI(M) student wing SFI last week. He said the event was regrettable but he does not feel animosity or hatred over it.
Rahul Gandhi said “This is where I work. But before it was my office, this was the Wayanad people’s office. The attack on the office is quite regrettable. Violence is never a solution to a problem. They shouldn’t have behaved in such a careless way. I don’t harbour any resentment or malice toward them”. He also said without mentioning SFI or CPI(M), “They are kids and don’t grasp the ramifications of their behaviour.”
Upon further investigation Newschecker found an article by Hindustan Times titled SFI workers vandalise Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad office uploaded on 25th June, 2022 on their website.
According to the article,Workers from the ruling CPIM’s Student Federation of India marched to Rahul Gandhi’s office in Kalpetta, Wayanad and vandalised it demanding that he intervene to allay the anxiety of people in his constituency in the wake of a recent Supreme Court directive that made it mandatory for every protected forest tract and wildlife sanctuary to have an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of one kilometre from its boundaries.
Conclusion
Newscheckecker’s investigation reveals that a video of Rahul Gandhi calling SFI workers in Wayanad who vandalised his office as children who deserve to be forgiven is being passed of as Rahul Gandhi calling the murderers of Kanhaiyalal in Udaipur as children who should be forgiven.
Result: False
Our Sources
Youtube video by channel Manorama News
Facebook video by Rahul Gandhi Official page
Indian Express report, Rahul Gandhi visits vandalised Wayanad office, says act unfortunate but he isn’t angry, (1st July, 2022)
Hindustan Times report, SFI workers vandalise Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad office, (25th June, 2022)
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Authors
Vaibhav is a part of Newschecker’s English team, where he spots and debunks all kinds of misinformation, making the rounds on the internet. A Journalism graduate from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, he holds an M.A degree in Philosophy and an M.Phil from Delhi University.
